Natural burial ground planned for Green Belt land in Sheffield

Councillors will next week look at plans to use agricultural land off Riggs High Road at Stannington as the final resting place for people who would like to be buried or have their ashes scattered in the countryside.

Natural burial grounds are still relatively new with just 19 across the UK but farmers are looking at them as a way to diversify.

They are different from traditional burial grounds as people are laid to rest in bio-degradable coffins without the use of embalming chemicals and often without headstones.

There would be 14 areas laid out but exact plots would depend on ground conditions with “exclusion zones” to protect existing trees and wildlife habitats.

Between 400 and 500 plots would be within each phase, marked with the planting of a tree or a small memorial stone. The paths would be informal grassland and there would be a small car park with 14 spaces.

Bradfield Parish Council is concerned about the effect on wildlife and the environment while

Loxley Valley Protection Society is concerned that non-biodegradable items left as tributes will lead to littering.

The Peak and Northern Footpaths Society says people walking across a natural burial ground is not acceptable to either walkers or the relatives of the dead buried there while Sheffield Local Access Forum is concerned that public access will be restricted.

Planning officers say in a report: “Trees and memorial stones will mark individual burial plots. Memorial stones would be 300mm by 300mm and sit just above ground level.

“The small size of these memorial stones is unlikely to have a significant visual impact upon the Green Belt, particularly as the areas surrounding the stones are unlikely to consist of neatly mown grassland and tree planting will somewhat reduce the visibility of the stones.

“It would be unreasonable and impractical for any planning permission to restrict the number of trees or memorial stones, and therefore there is a possibility the site could be mainly populated by one or the other.”